As AfCFTA drives new trade opportunities, businesses are calling for faster cross border payment systems and improved access to liquidity.
Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers
African trade continued to gather momentum during the first half of 2026, but businesses expanding across the continent are still being held back by fragmented payment systems, liquidity constraints and foreign exchange challenges.
According to global business to business financial technology firm Verto, companies are increasingly looking beyond their domestic markets for growth as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) continues to create new opportunities.
However, many of the long standing financial barriers to seamless cross border trade remain firmly in place.
Ola Oyetayo, chief executive of Verto, said businesses across Africa were showing growing confidence despite the operational complexities involved in moving money between countries.
"What we are seeing across the businesses we work with is real momentum. Trade between South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and the West African bloc continues to grow, despite many of the challenges businesses still face when moving money across borders. The appetite for expansion is there, and businesses are increasingly looking beyond their domestic markets for growth opportunities."
As one of Africa's most developed financial markets, South Africa continues to play a strategic role as both a gateway into the continent and a bridge to international trading centres.
Ola Oyetayo, chief executive of Verto.
Image: Supplied.
Verto said one of the biggest shifts this year has been the diversification of trade corridors, with businesses increasingly pursuing opportunities within Africa rather than relying solely on traditional international markets.
For South African companies, this creates opportunities to reach new customers, strengthen regional supply chains and diversify sourcing across the continent.
Despite these opportunities, businesses continue to navigate an increasingly complex operating environment that includes currency volatility, changing regulatory requirements, compliance obligations and rising operating costs.
The company said these pressures are particularly challenging for small and medium sized enterprises, where delays in payments and access to foreign currency can directly affect cash flow, supplier relationships and long term growth plans.
One of the clearest themes emerging during the first half of the year has been the widening gap between trade ambition and trade execution.
Businesses may identify attractive opportunities in neighbouring markets, but transferring funds across African borders often remains more complicated than making payments to financial centres outside the continent.
Oyetayo, said liquidity remained one of the biggest obstacles facing businesses.
"Liquidity remains the core issue. Businesses need deep emerging-market FX, multi-currency accounts and a direct route to foreign-currency rails. Without that, payments age and working capital get tied up," said Oyetayo.
Oyetayo said South African businesses face an additional challenge because they need reliable access to both African markets and major global financial centres.
"For South African businesses specifically, there is a two corridor reality. They need reliable access into the rest of Africa, and separately, into global markets such as London and New York. Most infrastructure is still built for one or the other, and that gap is where much of the friction businesses experience today originates."
Despite these obstacles, Verto believes progress is being made through initiatives such as the Pan African Payment and Settlement System, alongside continued investment in digital payments, alternative settlement mechanisms and financial technology.
The company said financial institutions, fintech firms and regulators are increasingly aligned on the need to modernise the infrastructure supporting African trade, although implementation remains a work in progress.
Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, Oyetayo said businesses that can efficiently move capital across both regional and global markets will be best positioned to benefit from expanding trade opportunities.
"Initiatives like PAPSS are a meaningful step, but right now it is the operators building the corridors who are setting the pace, not policy."
"We are not waiting for infrastructure to fully catch up before building what businesses need today. The businesses that will benefit most from the next phase of African trade growth will be those that can move capital efficiently across both regional and global markets."
Verto said the first half of 2026 has shown that African businesses are no longer waiting for perfect trading conditions and that companies prepared to overcome financial infrastructure challenges will be best placed to capitalise on the continent's growing regional trade opportunities.
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